Metal barge construction.



J. L. TAYLOR.

METAL BARGE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21. 1914.

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Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET] WETN IESSES I. L. TAYLOR.

METAL BARGE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21. 1914.

L m mfin Patented Jan.15,1918

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 2 FIG. 5 E1- 7 WBTNESES IINVENTH J. L. TAYLOR.

METAL BARGE CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED ram/21,1914.

mm msn Patented J an. 15, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG. Q 24 i. L. TAYLOR.

METAL BARGE QQNSTRUCTIONf APPLICATION man MAYZI, I914.

WITNESSES HNVENTR' gmwzi/a J. L. TAYLOR. METAL BARGE CONSTRUCTION.APPLICATION FILED MAYZI, I914.

Patented J an. 15, 1918.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- mw JUE rr swans 1nrnn r carton JOHN L. TAYLOR, OFOAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA.

METAL BARGE cons'rnn'c'rron.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Jana l5, lltltlfia Application filed May 21, 1914:. SerialNo. 839,973.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Oakniont, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania-, have invented a new and useful Meta-l Barge Construction,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction of barges, boats, pontoons orother open or decked floating craft, used in passenger traffic or forconveying cattle or in handling and conveying merchandise, coal, sandand like materials or products, both packaged and in bulk.

Heretofore such vessels have been generally formed of wood. In the fewcases where metal has been used the flat plates employed in forming thesides and bottom necewitate the use of a large-number of stizdeners. Theuse of such a large number of stifieners not only adds to the weight anddecreases the carrying capacity of the craft but, 0n account of theshort distance between the sti-fi'eners seriously interferes with theunloading operations in removing bulk cargoes, in which cases a grabbucket e is employed.

a barge framed in the usual manner with wooden dunnage, 1t is necessaryto reso move the dunnage several times during the till life of thebarge, at periods varying from four to seven years, and, at intervalsnot exceedmg two years, it becomes necessary to remove the dunnage inorder to clean --and,

paint the barge bottom.

- In a metal barge, having a wooden dunnage and engaged in carryingcargoes such as coal or sand,.all or part of which is finely dividedenough to drop between the cracks, which are formed by the alternatewetting and drying of the dunnage, the space between the bottom platingand the dunnage soon becomes filled, and results in a serious loss incargo carrying capacity.

One object of my 1nvention is to provide a barge or similar floatingcraft framed of metal andhaving novel means whereby the necessarystifi'ness and strength is obtained with a material reduction in deadweight and. consequent increased carrying capacit on a given draft orwith a reduction in draft in carrying a given weight.

Another object of the invention is to provide a metal barge constructionhaving improved means by which the number of frames used in the bargesis lessened to a large eXte t and the use of the grab buckets ordinarilyemployed in removing-bulk cargoes thereby greatly facilitated.

A further object of this invention is to 2 provide a barge in which thenecessary number of punched holes in the plating and number of rivetsused in fabricating the craft are reduced to a large extent, leakage andliability of leakage is lessened, the cost of upkeep is reduced and thelife of the craft is lengthened.

it still further object of my invention is to provide a barge havingnovel means for strengthening the barge framing, lessening the liabilityof sinking of the barges and facilitating the raising of sunken loadedbarges.

Another object of my invention is to provide a. barge constructionwhereby the num ber of necessary bottom stiffening members is greatlyreduced, liability of engagement of the stiffening members by grabbuckets employed in unloading operations is avoided and consequentinjury or damage to the barge thereby overcome and prevented.

it further object of my invention is the provision of an open bargehaving a bottom constructed in such manner that the cargo can be loadeddirectly upon the bottom plating, the necessity of the wooden dunnageusually employed in a steel barge of ordinary construction is avoidedand tile dead weight is thereby decreased with a. corresponding increasein the cargo carrying capacity.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a barge, the cargoof which canill llll

till

become apparent as the invention is more fully disclosed hereinafter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification, Figure 1 is a plan showing'theleft hand half of a bargeframed of metal and constructed and arranged in accordance with myinvention, the barge being symmetrical about the line Fig. 2 is asectional side elevation of the part of the barge shown in Fig. 1, thesection being taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transversesection taken on the irregular line IIIIII of Fig. 1.'

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale, showing in detailthe transverses used in the construction of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, thesection being taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan showing half of the length of a modified construction,the barge being symmetricalabout the line VV. Fig. 6 is a side elevationor outboard profile of the barge shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a transversesection on the irregular line VIIVII of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a sectionalside eleration showing the construction of the rake ends of the barge ofFigs. 5, 6 and 7.

Fig. 9 is a transverse section of a barge having corrugated platesforming the sides as well as the bottom thereof. Fig. 10 is a sectionalside elevation of a portion of the barge construction of Fig. 9 thesection being taken on the lineXX of Fig. 9, and showing theconstruction of the transverses and of the diagonal bracing employed totake the shear on the corrugated metal side plating of the barge.

Fig. 11 is a transverse section of a barge having a deck, the left handhalf of this figureshowing the diagonal bracing forming part of the decksupporting means and the right handhalf showing the construction of thedecked barge having transversewater tight bulkheads. Fig. 12 is asectional elevation of a portion of a barge this sec tion being taken onthe line XII-XII of Fig. 11. J

Fig. 13 is a plan showing a portion of a modified form of barge. Fig. 14is a.sectional side elevation of the barge construction shown in Fig.13. Fig. 15 is a detail sectional end elevation showing a portion of thebarge shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Fig. 16, is a detail sectional endelevation, on the line XVIXVI of Fig. 15 showing the construction of thetransverses of the barge of Figs. 13, 14 and 15.

Fig. 17 is a sectional end elevation showing a further modificati n inthe construction and arrangement 0 the corrugated side and bottomplating and in the construction of the transverses and side stifi'enersof the barge. Fig. 18 i a se ticne end elevation taken on the line XVIIIXVIII of Fig. 17. Fig. 19 is a section taken on the line XIX-XIX of Fig.17.

In the accompanying drawings, referring to Figs. 1', 2, 3 and 4 a bargehaving vertical sides 2 and rake ends 3 formed of fiat plates and abottom 4 formed of corrugated plates is shown. Plating is provided ateach end of the barge, which extends horizontally inward to form a deck5 and which is joined to an inclined plating wall 6 so, as to form awater tight bulkhead or compartment 7 in each end of the barge. Theplates forming the rake ends of the barge are connected at their upperedges to a steel corner casting 8, this casting being riveted at itsends to the plating forming the sides 22 of the barge.

The barge bottom 4 is formed of a series A barge form water tightcompartments 14 of triangular cross section, the bottom of the bargeforming one side of the so formed triangle.

In constructing the transverses 12 (see Fig. 4) so as to form a watertight compartment, a rolled steel angle 15 extends lengthwise from oneside to the other of the barge at the apex of the transverses and formsa convenient means for connecting the adjoining upper edges of theplates 13-13 forming the inclined sides of the transverses. Angles 1616also are employed at lntervals in the length of theplates 13 to formstilfeners for the inclined sides of the transverses, the upper ends ofthese angles being connected together by gusset plates 17 Angles 18 areriveted to the lower edge of the side plates 13 and to the bottom plates4, one flange of these angles being 'bent to the same shape as thecorrugated bot-tom plates to form an'air and water tight ]01Ilt 1 J owedby its lower edge to the upper ed e or apex of each transverse 12 ateach si de of the barge is a plate 19 forming a-knee which-is fastenedto the side of the barge by means of an angle 20. Stiflening angles 21are setween the end transverses and the ends of the barge is a series ofside stiffener-s 2222' of each side of the barge is a metal channel 24having its flanges turned downward as shown, the channels being rivetedby one flange to the sides 2 of the barge. The up: per ends of the kneesformed by the plates 19 and angles 20-21 are fastened to the channels 24and also the upper ends of the stifleners 22 and the lower ends of thestifl'eners 22 are secured to the bottom plating by means of angles orbent plates 25. Secured on top of each of the channels 24 and also onthe upper edge'of the castings 8 on the ends of the barge is woodenplanking 26 forming the gunwales of the barge.

In the sides of each of the hollow transverses 12 is a manhole having awater tight man-hole cover 27 and the horizontal plating forming thedecks 5 at each end of the barge is provided with a man-hole and manholecover 28.

The barge is provided with the usual com- I the towing lines also arefastened to these bitts, when the barge is being towedfrom place toplace.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings thesides 2, and rake ends 3 are formed of flat plates and the bottomplating 4 is corrugated, the bottom plating having flat portions 9 and10 connected by inclined portions 11 formed in the same manner as inFigs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Se cured on.each end of the transverses 31, whichare formed of rolled I-beams, are knees 32 formed of a web plate andangles 33, 34 and 35. Each end of the barge is pro vided with ahorizontal deck 5 and sloping plating wall 6 which serve to form a waterand air tight compartment 7 in each end of the barge, and in this casediagonal bracing formed of angles 36 "is' also provided to stifi'en therake ends 3 and deck plating 5 and plating 6. On each side of the barge,between the transverses 31 and also between the end transverses 31andends ofthe barge, are Vertically extending channels 37 secured by oneflange to the side plating 2 to stiffen the sides of the barge. Thechannels 24 and Wooden planking 26 extending along the upper edge of thebarge sides forms the gunwales of the barge and the upper ends of theknees 32 are fastened to the channels 24 as in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.Towing bitts 29 and 30 are secured to the gunwales of the barge and aman-hole having a cover 28 is formed in each of the decks 5. The loweredge of the sides 2 are connected by knuckles 23 formed of angles to theedges of the corrugated bottom plating 40f the barge, the

angles 23, as shown, being placed outside of the side and bottomplating.

In the construction of Figs. 9 and 10 the barge has corrugated platingforming the sides 2 as well as the bottom plating 4 of the barge. Therake ends may be formed either of corrugated or flat plates as isdesired. Transverses 38 formed of I-bea-ms and knees 32 formed in thesame manner as in Fig. 7 are fastened to the bottom and the side platingin the manner which has been described and channels 24 with downwardlyturned flanges are fastened to the side plating 2 and to the top of theknees 32. In this construction no vertically extending anglestiflenersare employed, the corrugated side plating having suflicientstiffness in itself and diagonally extending angles 40 (see Fig.

10) fastened to the corrugated side plating 2 between the transverses 38are provided to itJake the shearing strain on the sides 2 of the arge.

In Figs. 11 and 12 a decked barge is shown. In this construction thebarge has flat side plating 2 and corrugated bottom plating 4, a roundknuckle 41 being employed to connect the lower edge of the sideplatingwith the adjacent edge of the corrugated bottom plating.

Transverses formed of channels 42 are employed at intervals in thelength of the barge, these transverses being secured by one flange tothe corrugated bottom plating 4. 4. plate .43 and stifl'ener angles 44and 45 are used at the sides 2 of the barge to connect the ends of thetransverses 42 and side platlng 2.

At the upper ends of the vertical stiffene-rs formed by the plates 43and angles44.

45 a channel 46 is secured which extends from side to'side of the barge,this channel being bent to the same curvature as the deck of the bargewhich is formed of flat metal plates 47. A series of channels 48 whichrest on the upper flange of the curved chan nel and the transverses (asis shown on the left hand half of Fig. lll. the barge and at suitableintervals in the length of this barge, a'bulkhead is formed of fiatplates, which (as shown on the right hand half of Fig. 11), extends fromthe deck plating 47 downwardly to the bottom plating and from side toside of the barge so as to form water tight compartments at intervals inthe length of the barge. The bottom angles 53 are bent to the contour ofthe corrugated bottom plating so as to form. a tight joint. Verticalstifieners formed of angles 54 are used to stifi'en the bulkhead.

length of the barge. Angles 58 .(see Fig.

15) forming the square knuckles used in this construction are employedto connect the adjacent marginal side edges'of the plating forming thesides 2 and bottom 4, these angles extending u the rake ends 3 to theupper marginal e ges or gunwales of the barge. As shown, thecorrugations 57 in the bottom plating'decrease in depth toward the topedge of the rake ends of the barge although obviously the same result isobtainable by continuing the corrugations at a universes 60 which, inthe construction of Figs.

form depth around and up the rake ends 3 of the barge. An angle 59 issecured by one leg to the. upper edge of the rake end plat- 1ng, theother'leg thereof being riveted to the plating forming the decks 5 atthe ends of the barge. as is shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Located withinthe barge at suitable intervals in the length thereof are the trans-13., 14, 15 and 16 are H-shaped in cross section, being-built up (asshown in detail in Fig. 16) of angles 61 riveted on opposite sides ofeach of the marginal edges of a central connecting web member '62.Wooden fillers 63 are placed in the spaces between the angles 61 on eachside of the web 62 so as to prevent the grab-bucketsused in unloadingthe barges from catching or grasping the transverses and in this waypossible damage to the barge is avoided and overcome.

The vertical stifi'eners or uprights on the transverses 60 are formed ofchannels 64 placed back to back with a gusset plate there- At each endof between forming a knee 65 by which the vertical members are securedto the ends of the horizontally extending bottom members of thetransverses 60. Angles 66 are fastened by one leg to the channels 64 atthe ends thereof, the other leg of these angles being riveted directlyto the plating forming the sides2 of the barge.

The upper ends of the channels 64 are fastened to the channels 24forming the gunwale on each side ofthe barge, one flange of thesechannels being riveted to the side platthe decks 5 so as to afl'ordmeans for securing the marginal side edges of the deck plating to theupper edges of the side plating 2 of the barge. Angles 68 on theinclined. edge of the knee 65 serve to stiffen the plate forming thisknee.

The intermediate vertical side stifi'eners are formed of short pieces ofangles or bent plates 69, one leg of these angles bein fastened to theplating 2 forming the arge sides, the other leg being riveted to theangles 7 0 extending continuously from the top to the bottom of thebarge sides 2.

The Z-bars which extend horizontally at intervals in the height of thebarge to form the side stilfeners 71 are secured by one leg to theplating forming the sides 2, and the Z-bars are fastened by one leg tothe vertical members 64 of the transverses 60 and to the angles formingpart of the intermediate side stifi'eners 69 at the points ofintersection therewith soas to strengthen the flat sides of the bargebetween the transverses 60 and vertical intermediate side stifl'eners69.-

Man-holes in the decks 5 at the ends of the barge provide means ofaccess to the compartments 7 and, when the covers 28 are secured inposition in the man-holes, an air and water tight compartment 7 isformed in each end of the barge when the partition or wall 85 isextended to the bottom of the barge as before described.

The use of the transverses at such widely separated intervals in thelength of the barge is accomplished and made possible by reason of thevery stiff and strong construction obtained in the use of corrugatedmetal plating in constructing the barge bottoms as shown in Fig. 15 orthe sides and bottoms of the barges as in Figs. 17 18 and 19.

In Figs. 17 18 and 19 a modified form of ing 2. The channels forming thegunwales I are extended beneath the plating forming rounded knuckle or aseparate plate forming the knuckle 80 may be used to which the abuttingends of the side and end plating are riveted (in the manner shown inFig. 17). The corrugated bottom platin is continued around the rake ends3, pre erably in the same manner as shown in Fig. 14.

The transverses 74 in Figs. 17 and 18 are of modified construction,being formed of plates bent into the shape of inverted U ith angles 75riveted by one leg to the marginal edges of the said shaped plates. The

outstanding legs of the angles 7 are utilized in riveting the corrugatedbottom plating t of the barge to the transverses 74. At each end of thetransverses, a vertical member 76 is provided, also formed of a platebent into U shape and having one leg of an angle 77 riveted to eachmarginal side edge of the U- shaped plate, the other leg of these anglesbeing in direct contact with and riveted to the corrugated side plating2.

In this construction the horizontal side sti'fi'eners used in theconstruction of Figs. 18, 14: and are dispensed with and theintermediate vertically extending side stifieners of the precedingfigures are also omitted. Plates 7 8 secured to the vertical members 7 6and the ends of the horizontal members forming the transverses 74:afi'ord means for bracing and fastening these vertical members to thetransverses of Fig. 17, and bent plates 7 9 are employed to connect theends of the transverses to the rounded knuckles 80 of the barge. Theplates 7 8 forming the knee are stiflened along their inclined marginaledge by angles 82. The upper ends of the vertical members 76 in thisconstruction are connected to and support the channel beams 24 securedby one flange to the top marginal edge of the side plates in forming thegunwales, in the same manner as heretofore described. Wlth someconstructions made in accordance with this invention, such as forexample that shown in Fig. 17 in which the plates forming the sides ofthe barge are corrugated, the number of intermediate side stifieners'maybe materially reduced or in some cases may be entirely omitted.

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Gorrugating the metal plating stifi'ens and strengthens the bargeto an extent which permits the number of transverses used to be largelyreduced. The omission of the large number of transverses and sidestifieners made possible by corrugating the. barge plating greatlydecreases the number' of rivet holes in the construction and to thatdegree lessens theamount of leakage or possible leakage. in thecompleted structure. The reduction in number of rivet holes and rivetsand in the amount of riveting necessary also materially reduces thefirst cost of the fabricated structure.

By forming the bottom of the barge of corrugated metal plates, thewooden dunnage, usually employed, is made unnecessary, and the presenceof projections on the bottom of the barge liable to be engaged by timein erecting, and the cost of making the barges is materially reduced;The construction of a metal barge having a corrugated bottom suppliesthe need for a light weight metal barge which is particularly adapted tothe river carrying trade and Which can be provided at a costapproximating that of wooden barges.

Modifications in the construction and arrangement of the parts can bemade without departing from my invention. The barges may have corrugatedsides and bottom with a square knuckle instead of the rounded knuckleshown in Fig. 6. The transverses of Fig. 17 may be employed in formingthe barges of the other figures. The intermeditill;

ate side stifieners and the horizontally extending stifieners may beemployed or not,

as is desired. The water tight compart ments in the ends of the barge,and the hollow transverses forming water tight compartments at intervalsin the length of the barge may be employed or not as is desired. Thecorrugations may be sinuous as shown in Figs. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 ormay be formed in the manner shown in the other figures. The corrugationsmay be terminated short of the rake ends of the barges and other changesmay be made within the scope of my invention as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim 1. A barge or similar floating craft com prising sides, rakeends and a bottom formed of metal plates, a deck at each end of thebarge, plating connected to the deck and bottom to form water tightcompartments in the ends of the barge, and a series of cross frames ortransverses between the ends of the barge, said transverses being hollowand being triangular in cross section with the barge bottom forming oneside thereof, and formin water tight compartments.

2. A barge or similar floating craft comprising sides, rake ends and abottom formed of metal plates, a deck at each end of thebarge, platingconnected to the deck and bottom to form water tight compart ments inthe ends of the barge, and a series of cross frames or transversesbetween the ends of the barge, at least one of said trans verses beinghollow and being triangular in cross section With the barge bottomforming one side thereof and forming a Water tight compartmentintermediate the ends ofthe barge.

3. A barge or similar floating craft comprising sides, rake ends and abottom formed of metal plates, a deck at each end of the barge, platingconnected to the deck and bottom to form water tight compartments .inthe ends of the barge, anda series of cross frames or transversesbetween the ends 4 of the barge, at least one of said transverses set myhand.

' JOHN L. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

C. F. GERNER, B. O. BATEMAN.

